Ultimate Guide to Winter Tires

Have you ever found yourself wondering, are Winter Tires really that important? That’s a fair question to ask when you have “All Season” tires; they are meant to perform in all seasons right?

The reality is that unfortunately All Season tires do not perform adequately for the weather we experience in Calgary. Let’s go over some reasons as to why it is important to consider purchasing and installing winter tires on your vehicle.

Superior Tread Pattern

A unique feature of winter tires is deeper tread depths and unique tread patterns. Deeper tread depths reduce snow buildup and provide better traction on the snow. Winter tire tread patterns are designed to channel snow and slush and expel water. 

Softer Rubber Compounds

In extreme cold temperatures, the tread rubber of an all season or summer tire stiffens and becomes less able to provide sufficient traction. To combat this, tread rubber compounds of winter tires are designed to remain flexible, allowing the tire to grip the road better. 

Biting Edges

Winter tires also feature an increased number of biting edges and high sipe densities, or in other words, thousands of tiny slits in the tread that provides traction on ice. 

Better Control 

With no compromises made for other seasons, drivers will benefit from significantly increased traction during acceleration, notably shorter stopping distances, and a drastic increase in directional stability at speed. Where all-season tires are a little bit good in the heat and a little bit good in the cold, winter tires specialize in cold-climate driving, and it shows. With the compromise-free, cold-climate engineering behind winter tires, drivers can enjoy the cold-weather travel season with peace of mind to spare for themselves, or anyone using their ride.

Increased Tire Life

It goes without saying, but hey--it's worth a mention. Swapping to a set of winter tires will extend the life of your all-season rubber, while it sits the season out in your garage. This can help offset the up-front cost of your winter tires. Many drivers prefer to mount their winter tires on a set of black steel wheels, and leave the gleaming factory alloys away from the salt and sand.

Enhanced Safety System Functionality

Never before have automobiles worked so hard to keep drivers and their families safe. Today, highly advanced stability control systems, braking control systems and even hazard-detection features like pre-collision auto-braking are becoming more common.

Remember--antilock brakes, electronic brakeforce distribution, traction assist and stability control systems don't make traction. They simply help maximize the use of traction that's available. Provide these systems with more physical grip by installing winter tires, and they'll work better at keeping you and yours safe.

Why buy tires at Sunridge Mazda?

Added Confidence.

With every tire purchase, drive confidently knowing your tires are covered:

• Free tire repair for life of your tires*
• Free road hazard warranty

BEST VALUE.

Know you are getting the best price available, for the best tires suited for your Mazda.

EXPERT SERVICE

Our Mazda Technicians are factory trained with years of experience work on Mazdas just like yours every single day. That's just one of the many reasons they know your Mazda best.

We have packages for all Mazda models, and we can also outfit your off make with the highest quality winter tires in Calgary. Click here to shop for winter tires